23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

ANNIE

"Annie!" Emma waved when she saw me at the edge of the dance floor. Jet and I had slipped back inside about an hour ago, and until now, we'd mostly been able to avoid our friends. Knowing I'd been spotted, I resisted the urge to try to cover the bite marks Jet had left across my neck, and I headed over to the table, hoping my friend wouldn't notice. Or not say anything if she does .

I grumbled when I saw Nic sitting beside her, but I was honestly desperate for a seat, reaching down to rub at my aching feet as soon as I joined them. I'd barely touched the bottom of my foot before I winced, my thumb passing over a spot that was surely going to leave a bruise thanks to Izzy's sandals.

Jet so owes me a foot rub after subjecting me to dancing again. He hadn't been teasing me like before, but he was obsessed with getting his hands on me in my dress, and for that fact alone, I'd stayed out on that floor, loving the way he couldn't get enough of me tonight.

"Where did Jet run off to?" Emma asked, looking around .

"He's getting water or punch or something."

"I should have thought of that," Nic cut in. "Would you like something, Emma?"

She looked over at him, surprised. "Sure. Water sounds good. Thanks."

"One water, coming right up," Nic said, eyeing my neck, that eyebrow of his raising slightly as he stood. My eyes narrowed in warning, daring him to say something, but he turned away without a response.

"How's your night with Nic going?" I asked once he was lost in the crowd.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Don't you start insinuating."

"Um. I wasn't trying to."

"Sorry." Her shoulders dropped slightly. "I overheard Phoenix and Larissa talking earlier when we were coming over here to rest after dancing."

"Those two? They're all drama. Don't worry about them. I'll have Jet shut down any rumors they try to start about you if they do."

"Thanks." She smiled. "But in all honesty, in date terms, Nic's great. It kinda makes me wish I was into him."

I groaned, making a face, and Emma laughed.

"Kidding."

"Hey, guys." Izzy walked up, a dreamy expression across her face as she rested her hands on the back of a chair. "Isn't this a great night?"

Emma looked down, crestfallen, and for a moment, I wanted to kick my sister for that comment.

"Tonight's been fun," I agreed instead. "I'm glad you and Tucker are having such a good time. I didn't think y'all'd take a break with the way y'all have been going. I had to sit down, though. My feet can't take much more. "

Izzy laughed, and I couldn't help but smile at the sound, unable to detect anything fake about it.

"So, Tucker went for a drink and said he'd meet me over here, but I really need to run to the ladies' room. Can y'all tell him where I went?"

"Sure." I waved her on, watching Izzy glide out the gym doors. "You doing okay, Ems?" I checked again, especially since I knew Megan wasn't going to tonight.

Emma pressed hard against a fingernail, actually cracking the pink polish she'd used to match her dress. "If you're referring to my immature, wish-he-could-be boyfriend or my over-controlling father, then let's just not talk about it."

I nodded, the guys saving me from the awkward moment as they walked up.

"Izzy went to the restroom." I filled Tucker in.

"Sounds good. I can wait." He pulled out a chair, flipping it around to straddle it before running a hand back through his hair, some of the strands falling back to his brow.

Jet slid me my punch, taking the seat between Tucker and I as Nic handed Emma her water, and we all started to chat, catching up on the night's events and talking about whether or not we liked the song the band had started to play when Tucker suddenly groaned. "Fuck."

My eyes followed his, and I watched Mateo charging over, his gaze narrowed and his jaw set. This time I groaned, knowing he was probably about to shove his foot so far into his own mouth he might never be able to choke it back out.

Mateo smacked his hands down on the edge of the table. "Alright. I've had enough, Emma. I know you're not together, but you've spent most of the night with Nic. You had dinner with him, had almost every dance together, except for the one we had when we first got here and the few I've seen you dance with your girlfriends. Hell, he's even passing you handkerchiefs and getting your drinks for you. I can't take it anymore. You're supposed to be my date. I want you to stop dancing with Nic and come dance with me."

We all stared at him in shock because I didn't think I'd ever heard him be so forceful. About time he stood up for himself. I just wasn't sure how it was going to go over with Emma.

She shook her head slowly, the loose wisps of hair that framed her face floating at her cheeks. "I'm not dancing right now."

Mateo's eyes narrowed. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"But my dad…" Emma trailed off, her expression saying a lot more when her eyes darted in her father's direction.

I looked to where he stood by the snack table, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched us, eyeing us all with an expression filled with warning. Just waiting for Emma to screw up.

Mateo's head snapped back, but he leaned close, only inches away from her before he continued. "Yes, Emma. Your dad is here. He is sending me looks from hell, and he's been making me feel like shit all night, just like every other day since he found out that you wanted to be with me. But you know what?"

"What?" she breathed.

"I finally realized, thankfully before I did anything stupid , that I don't care. "

"You don't care about me?" Emma whispered, and I broke my gaze from Mateo's expression to look at my friend. There was something off about her tone, and apparently, Nic had picked up on it, too. We shared an annoying moment of recognition together as Mateo replied.

"No, baby. I'm saying that I don't care what he thinks anymore. I'm fed up, and I'm not going to take it. We want to be together, so let's be together. We're both eighteen now. We're about to graduate for fuck's sake, so what can he really do?"

"You know what he can do. You know what he will do. He won't pay for my college, Mateo. He's already making me go to Ridgeside to keep me away from you. I want to go to school."

Mateo stood up straight and threw his hands in the air. "So, go to school. Go to UT. You got in, and it's where you really want to go. We can be together there. You don't need him to go to school."

"Yes, I do," she argued. "I didn't get a ton of scholarships, and he's refusing to pay if I don't go where he says."

"Do you really think your mom will let him refuse to give you money for your education ?"

Her slender shoulders shrugged. "Maybe. He's an asshole. I don't want to chance it."

"Damn it, Emma. I want to be with you. Do you hear me?"

She nodded, and I recognized the look. Tears weren't far off. "Come to Ridgeside with me, then. We can be together there."

"And have your dad up my ass all the time when we both got into a school that's far enough away that he couldn't interfere with our relationship? Yeah, that sounds like the smart choice. Besides, it's not like I have parents that can afford to send me to school. You know how important getting that basketball scholarship was to me. UT offered me a good deal. Would you really want me to pass that up?"

"No. I wouldn't." Emma looked up, finally meeting Mateo's eyes with nearly the same intensity he'd been giving her. "Would you really want me to put a rift between me and my dad just so we can be together for a couple of years? If that," she barely mumbled at the end.

Mateo winced. "How do you know it would only be a couple of years?"

Emma tossed a hand up in exasperation. "Oh, come on, Mateo. It's not like either of us ever expected this to last forever."

Our table fell completely silent. Mateo's face was frozen. He looked like he'd been slapped. "Why not?" he finally managed to ask. "Jet and Annie know they're endgame. So do Izzy and Tucker. Who's to say that can't be us?"

"Because it's not!" Emma cried. "It's too hard. I don't want to do this anymore. I can't take it anymore. I'm sorry."

Mateo's eyes narrowed again. "We never even got the chance." He stepped back and took off, pushing out the doors, more malice in his words than I knew how to process.

Jet and Tucker exchanged looks and hurried after him while Emma buried her face in her arms. I reached over to pat her back, my eyes falling to where Nic pretended to be studying a napkin he was tearing into tiny pieces.

"I'm sorry, guys. I'm making your prom suck. "

"Don't worry about it, Ems. I blame it on your dad, not you," I tried to comfort.

"Don't." Emma said into her arms before sitting up, blinking with teary eyes. "It's my fault for putting everyone through this for so long. I should have let Mateo go when my dad first went off. I mean, come on. Mateo ? What was I thinking?"

"You liked him. That's what you were thinking."

Emma shrugged. "Yeah, but honestly…I'm glad it's over. I just wish I would have broken it off sooner. I wish I'd realized I wanted to do it sooner. It wasn't worth everything it cost."

Nic looked up from his napkin, his confused expression matching mine, and we exchanged a look. If there was any time for our truce, this was it.

"Ems, you're not making much sense," I hedged.

She sighed and wiped away a few silent tears with her hands, and Nic handed her his handkerchief again. "Thanks." Emma smiled and dabbed at her eyes this time, careful not to smear her makeup. She glanced around us before taking a steadying breath and lowered her voice, like she was telling a secret.

"You heard the fighting, Annie."

"The fighting?" Emma gave me a look. "Oh." Her parents.

"What you heard that night was nothing. They were being quiet. They got into a huge fight today before we left for your house. It's actually why we left for your house. My dad got so mad that he wasn't even going to let me come with Nic, even though it's not an actual date, and my mom got angry. I mean angry . They started screaming about affairs and cheating and payback, and the only reason it stopped was because my mom yelled she wanted a divorce."

"I'm so sorry."

"That's awful."

Nic and I took turns consoling, and somehow, at that moment, that truce we'd tried to set had really fallen into place. Maybe not for forever, but for tonight, I knew it had.

Emma dabbed away a few more tears. "Yeah, saying she wanted a divorce was bad enough, but when my dad told her he'd already filed one, I sort of zoned out. Like it had to be a dream. Until I realized my mom and I were driving around town for an hour, crying, before we calmed down enough to go over to your place."

"Why didn't you tell us?" If I'd known, I'd have jumped in that asshole's face as soon as he'd walked in here tonight. I shot her dad a glare instead.

Emma took a deep breath, slowly releasing it in a long sigh. "It would have just ruined everyone's night. Not worth it when I realized I caused all of it myself."

Nic shook his head, his voice stern. "No. You didn't."

"I heard that other fight, Emma. I know what happened. This wasn't you."

"Yeah, whatever." She shifted in her chair, composing herself. "What time is it?"

Nic slid his phone from his pocket. "Ten past midnight."

"Do you think it's too early to head down to the beach for the party? I heard that Corey's going to have more than beer tonight. I'd love to get my hands on some Jello shots. Or Jack would be good if there's Coke. "

I was just about to tell her I'd find Jet and Tucker so we could all head over when Nic stood up and grabbed Emma's empty cup.

"Alcohol is not the answer. I'll get you some more water and have the limo take you home."

We both looked up in surprise. What the hell? It was just some shots, and he'd been with us to one of Corey's parties before.

Emma shook her head. "I'm not ready to go home yet. I want to go to the party."

"Fine," Nic conceded, something passing over his expression. "We'll go to the party, but you're not drinking." He took off to refill her cup, leaving Emma and I to shrug and share confused looks as we waited for the others to return.